If you take a bunch of random photos throughout the day, or if you only take one or two photos, your Highlight isn’t going to be particularly impressive. The software seems to make them no matter what, and there’s not really a way to tell the software not to bother on one particular day. It’s a small thing, but seeing that video at the end of the day is just about the closest thing to magic you’ll get from a smartphone.

Audio

HTC placed a premium on their new speaker design during the announcement of the HTC One. Putting the speakers on the front of the phone is something that’s unique to the One. It makes perfect sense, when you think about how many people cradle their phones in a strange way to get just a little more volume out of their speakers. For the most part, speakers on smartphones are thought to be good enough. In order for speakers on a smartphone to be considered great, you’d really have to do something impressive.

When comparing the volume and audio quality of the HTC One and the Boomsound technology that has been deployed on the phone, I found it easier to compare the phone to current generation laptop speakers. There isn’t another smartphone that offered something that was close enough to compare, in either volume or sound quality. The speakers are quite loud, only barely softer than the MacBook Pro.

The HTC One takes advantage of BeatsAudio on a system level, so you are always benefiting from the technology any time audio comes out of the phone. 3D surround is also supported for games that deploy the technology, and you can hear the difference.

More than just playback, the microphones on the One are capable of recording a much higher quality of audio. What HTC calls “dual membrane microphones” are capable of capturing audio that is both soft and at a distance as well as loud and full of distortion. You can record at a concert or at a one-on-one meeting and walk away from both situations with a high quality audio file.

Battery

Today we’ve got phones like the Razr Maxx HD that can go three days without needing to be charged, but most handsets last from 7 to 10 hours. A battery life of 7 hours is the bottom limit of what’s acceptable for a smartphone today. Obviously there are some outliers, and everyone’s mileage is going to be a little different, this 7 hours is a good reference point. The HTC One’s battery isn’t special from a size or usage standpoint, but the way the phone handles power consumption is smarter than most.

Google’s power management and reporting tools in Android 4.1.2 have been modified heavily for HTC’s usage. The information is organized in a detailed graph that shows you what your phone was doing and when, complete with a graph that you can expand and collapse to get a better idea of what has happened. The notification tray has a persistent option to conserve battery by conserving CPU usage and controlling things like brightness, vibration, and data connection. If you’re about to head into a meeting where you know you aren’t going to be using your phone, it’s really quick to hit that button. Depending on your situation, the difference in battery usage can be significant.

Of course, if you want to crush the battery in a few hours, it’s not hard. With a 1080p screen and amazing speakers, it’s hard not to want to play games or watch moves for a few hours. Playing graphically intense games nonstop will kill your phone in roughly four hours, while you can watch three full length movies before your HTC One dies on you. If your phone gets below 20% battery, you’ll get a popup to warn you with a few options to conserve battery life. It’s not the best battery out there, but the HTC One gives you the tools needed to get exactly what you want to get out of your battery.

Final thoughts

The HTC One has a fantastic screen, an incredible speaker system, and the best camera I have ever used on a smartphone. It processor and GPU make playing games truly enjoyable. The HTC One is easily the best portable entertainment system with a data connection that you can purchase today. That may not be the same thing as being the best smartphone, but it is a lot of fun to use.